Franklin freshman hitting her stride

Franklin didn’t quite win the Johnson County softball championship back on May 12, but Izzy Harrison still had about as good a birthday as she could have imagined.

The Grizzly Cub freshman had a perfect day at the plate, collecting hits in all seven of her at-bats over two games, and she turned in a strong pitching performance to lead her team to an upset victory over previously unbeaten Center Grove, a team ranked in the top 10 nationally.

The birthday breakout capped a dominating week from Harrison, who had previously tossed back-to-back shutouts against Plainfield — a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts and a one-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks.

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Harrison heads into this week’s sectional at Franklin Central with an earned-run average of 2.33 and 137 strikeouts in the pitching circle. She’s also batting a shade under .500 with eight doubles, five triples and three home runs.

A standout from an early age — she had accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky before ever throwing a pitch for the Grizzly Cubs — Harrison had to endure some ups and downs early in her freshman season before hitting her stride.

“There’s always an adjustment for the girls when they come from middle school and travel ball to high school,” Franklin coach Lisa Whitlow-Hill said. “The day in, day out, games through the week instead of just on the weekends. So that has been an adjustment for her.”

“I just told myself to own it and do my thing and pitch,” Harrison said, “because I was kind of — not nervous, just eager to show everybody what I can do.”

As she’s continued to show more and more, the Grizzly Cubs have enjoyed greater success. Franklin got off to a 2-11 start but then won six out of seven before suffering a one-run defeat against Greenwood in the county championship game.

Prior to the arrival of Harrison, the Grizzly Cubs had struggled offensively; current senior Rilee King was the only true threat in the lineup, and opponents pitched around King accordingly. Now there are several other dangerous bats, starting with leadoff hitter Baylee Parker, and Franklin is suddenly a lot harder to handle.

The team comes into this week’s sectional confident that it can play with anyone — and that newfound belief should carry through the next three years with Harrison leading the charge.

“If she keeps working and builds off of this year,” Whitlow-Hill said, I would think she’d be unstoppable by the time she’s a senior.”

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Class 4A Franklin Central Sectional

Today

Greenwood vs. Whiteland, 6 p.m.

Martinsville vs. Franklin Central, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

Today’s winners, 6 p.m.

Center Grove vs. Franklin, 8 p.m.

Wednesday

Championship, 6 p.m.

Class 3A New Palestine Sectional

Today

Rushville vs. Beech Grove, p.m.

Tuesday

New Palestine vs. Connersville, 5 p.m.

Indian Creek vs. today’s winner, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Championship, 6 p.m.

Class A Edinburgh Sectional

Today

Indianapolis Lutheran vs. Waldron, 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Morristown vs. Southwestern (Shelbyville), 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Today’s winner vs. Tuesday’s winner, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday

Greenwood Christian vs. Edinburgh, 5:30 p.m.

Friday

Championship, 5:30 p.m.

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Class 4A Franklin Central Sectional

Favorite: Center Grove

Dark horses: Franklin Central, Martinsville

Players to watch: Center Grove — Piper Belden, Kaci Finchum, Abby Herbst, Jordyn Rudd; Franklin — Izzy Harrison, Rilee King, Baylee Parker; Franklin Central — Jaida Austin, Katie Back, Mariah Jenkins; Greenwood — Karlee Denham, Dominique Proctor, Alexis Rees; Martinsville — Paige Dorsett, Lexis Lucas, Elizabeth Snipes; Whiteland — Lindsey Boltz, Maddy Margraf

Outlook: Franklin Central and Martinsville are always tough outs, and both Franklin and Greenwood are coming into the postseason with a great deal of momentum. So in theory, anything can happen, which should add to the anticipation. The Trojans, though, are still the most loaded team in the field — and after suffering an upset loss to the Grizzly Cubs less than two weeks ago, they’re unlikely to come in overconfident. They can be beaten, but it’ll take some work.

Class 3A New Palestine Sectional

Favorite: New Palestine

Dark horses: Connersville, Indian Creek

Players to watch: Beech Grove — Reecie Gilliam, Alexia Ham; Connersville — Jeri Ellis, Madison Fields, Ashley Ruble; Indian Creek — Rachel Kyle, Sydney Logsdon, Kasey Wilhoit; New Palestine — Tatum Biddle, Jaylin Calvert, Michaela Jones, Macy Miller; Rushville — Maddie Kuhn, Adrian Marquez

Outlook: Indian Creek has a solid, senior-dominated team that should be able to make it to the sectional title game without much trouble. If it does get there, though, it’ll likely be up against a New Palestine team that won the 3A state title last year and is an prohibitive favorite to do so again. It would take a monumental upset for the Braves, who lost a 12-0 meeting with the Dragons last week, to move on.

Class A Edinburgh Sectional

Favorites: Edinburgh, Indianapolis Lutheran

Dark horses: Greenwood Christian, Southwestern

Players to watch: Edinburgh — Sidney Beier, Maddi Clark, Grace Joiner, Emma Wade; Greenwood Christian — Morgan Haynes, Alexis Mead; Indianapolis Lutheran — Miranda Dunn, Katie Hopkins, Gabby Moore; Morristown — Shade Bridgford, Jennifer Whitney; Southwestern — Annie Coy, Emmy Wendling, Kassi Zeigler; Waldron — Molly Benson, Amanda Brinson

Outlook: The Lancers plowed through their sectional with ease a year ago, winning each of its games by more than 10 runs. The addition of Lutheran, which eliminated Edinburgh in an extra-inning semistate affair last year, changes things significantly. Barring a very strange turn of events, the Lancers and Saints will meet up in the final here — and after the two split a doubleheader earlier this season, it’s anyone’s guess as to how a rubber match would play out.

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